Nuku Nuku and The Storm
by shanesnest
Summary: What was supposed to be a shopping trip gets changed when a storm hits Maneki City. And what does it have to with Ryunosuke and Nuku Nuku. Read and find out! And please leave me feedback!


**Nuku Nuku and The Storm**

**By Shanesnest**

Disclaimer: I don't own anything having to do with All Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku or any subsidiary businesses.

A/N: This was an idea that came to me one night when I was having trouble sleeping. It's also partially inspired by another author on Fan who did a somewhat similar story using the characters from Chobits. I hope you enjoy it.

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It was a few minutes after the tone signaling the end of classes had sounded. The boy stepped outside the school building and held up a hand to shade his eyes against the strong sun shining down.

_It's hot again,_ he thought. _I wish it would cool off._

He was glad he had worn his shorts today, but the dark green shirt was making him uncomfortable.

"Mr. Ryuuuunoooosuuuukkkkeeeeee!"

Closing his eyes briefly, the boy sighed.

_Here she comes_.

Turning to his right, he spotted the owner of the voice.

Atsuko Natsume smiled happily, waving as she jogged towards Ryunosuke, her face the very picture of joy, her school bag held in her other hand. Pinkish red hair streamed out from her head, capping an oval face with a generous mouth, smallish nose and two sparkling jade green eyes.

Slowing her pace, the girl came up to stand next to him, her mouth letting out a half-laugh, half-cackling sound that was her giggle.

"Let's go home together, Mr. Ryunosuke!"

The boy shook his head again, then stared up at her, having to crane his neck a little. Standing just over 5 feet in height, the girl was almost like a mountain to the smaller boy.

"What?" she finally said.

"We're supposed to go to the store Nuku Nuku, remember?"

Nuku Nuku was the name Atsuko went by more often than not. None in the Natsume family was quite sure where she had come up with it; Ryunosuke's father had considered it like a nickname. And since it was the name Atsuko liked and preferred, the Natsumes made a point to use it.

The girl stared at him blankly for a moment, then…

"Oh! Right!"

Ryunosuke sighed again. He couldn't believe that an all purpose cat-brained androbot could be so forgetful.

Even more frustrating was the fact that Nuku Nuku seemed oblivious to his moods. It took actually getting angry before she'd notice.

_Still… it's not like she means it_.

"Okay then," he said, his frown changing to a smile, "let's go."

"Yes!" she replied enthusiastically, beaming down at him.

As they moved towards the school entrance gate, Nuku Nuku reached down and took Ryunosuke's right hand in her left.

Though she had been a part of his family for some time now, it still surprised Ryunosuke when Nuku Nuku did this. Having no siblings, he wasn't used to this kind of contact and often found it embarrassing.

But, as he looked at Nuku Nuku, her face was composed as it often was, with no trace of awkwardness. And it wasn't as if she dressed provocatively or anything like that. She was wearing her school uniform right now, a sailor suit comprised of a white shirt with a blue lapel that had white stripe running through it. A yellow neckerchief traced its path under the lapel, emerging about mid-chest and hanging down to just below the waist.

The school skirt was a nearly knee length affair the same color as the lapel, not too short or too long. No, it wasn't her dress. It was just the feeling he had. Nuku Nuku's hand holding his, feeling the warmth from it. It was just, well… embarrassing.

A sudden flash of light broke its way into Ryunosuke's reverie.

"What…"

Just then, a resounding boom sounded from overhead.

The pair stopped walking.

"That was loud," said Nuku Nuku

_Thank you, Miss Obvious_, Ryunosuke thought. He was more concerned where it had come from. He had seen only a few clouds when he had stepped outside the school building.

"I don't see anything," he said.

"Over there, Mr. Ryunosuke," Nuku Nuku replied, pointing with the hand that held her school bag.

Ryunosuke looked and there it was, a group of dark gray clouds out to the west, advancing towards the city.

"Is it…" he began.

She nodded; her happy face gone now, in its place was an expression of seriousness.

"Yes, the storm is moving towards us at approximately 13 kilometers per hour."

_The shopping will have to wait_.

"We need to get out of here, Nuku Nuku, fast."

"And go where, Mr. Ryunosuke?" she asked, the happy/airhead expression back on her face.

"Home," he replied, "I don't want to get caught in that storm."

"Okay!" she said emphatically.

"What the…" Ryunosuke exclaimed as he felt his feet leave the ground.

Cradling the boy in her arms and dropping her school bag into his lap, Nuku Nuku's eyes shined with determination.

"Hang on, Mr. Ryunosuke! Here we go!"

And in a flash, she was off, running at a speed that left everything in the dust. All Ryunosuke could do was hold on tightly, watching as people, cars and houses passed by in a blur.

And less than ten minutes later, he heard a screeching sound as Nuku Nuku braked to a stop. Looking up from where she held him, Ryunosuke saw that they were right in front of the Natsume home. And a moment later, Nuku Nuku gently placed him onto his feet.

He took a deep breath, then looked up. Nuku Nuku was looking down at him expectantly. And despite his earlier shock, Ryunosuke was grateful. He smiled up at her.

"Thanks, Nuku Nuku."

"You're welcome, Mr. Ryunosuke," she replied, beaming at him.

BOOM!!

Both of them looked up just as the first raindrops hit them.

"Let's get inside!" he yelled.

A minute later, the pair stood inside the entrance of the house, drying off with towels kept nearby. Taking off their shoes, the two entered the house.

"Welcome home," said Kyusaku Natsume, as he stepped out of his underground lab.

He was met with wide-eyed stares.

"Mr. Kyusaku," Ryunosuke said," what happened to you?"

His father's white lab coat was shredded and smelled strongly of smoke. His hair was in disarray and seemed to sparking.

"Oh," the elder Natsume replied with an embarrassed smile, "I was working on a power supply when there was a surge in the line and well…"

"It's storming out there," Ryunosuke said.

"I know that," Kyusaku replied, "now."

"Mr. Ryunosuke?"

He turned to Nuku Nuku.

"I'm going to go change and put my bag away."

"Okay."

As Nuku Nuku headed upstairs to the room she and Ryunosuke shared, Mr. Kyusaku spoke.

"Your mom called. She's going to be late coming home from work and said we should finish yesterday's stew."

"Okay," Ryunosuke replied, "I'll go wash up for dinner and you'd better…"

"I know, "Mr. Kyusaku said, already headed towards his room.

Shaking his head at his mad scientist father, Ryunosuke headed to the bathroom.

After heating the stew and preparing some fish for Nuku Nuku, the three sat down to a nice dinner. The rain continued outside and there was the occasional flash of lightning accompanied by a roll of thunder.

"It's still coming down," Mr. Kyusaku observed.

"It's been hot for a while," Ryunosuke said, "It was bound to happen."

"I supposed you're right."

"Mr. Ryunosuke?"

"Yes?" he said, almost starting. Nuku Nuku was staring at him wide eyed.

"We forgot to go shopping!" she declared.

Ryunosuke fought to not laugh at her.

"That's because of the storm, Nuku Nuku. We'll try going tomorrow."

She stared at him a moment more.

"Oh! Then it's okay?"

"Yes," he replied, smiling at her.

"Good!" she said, beaming back at him.

After dinner, Mr. Kyusaku returned to his lab while Nuku Nuku and Ryunosuke watched TV for a while. The picture went fuzzy every so often as the storm continued outside.

A couple hours later, Nuku Nuku let out a long, drawn out yawn.

"I'm tired, Mr. Ryunosuke."

To his surprise, Ryunosuke felt fairly tired himself.

"Let's go to bed then."

"Okay," she said sleepily.

The two moved upstairs and after changing into their pajamas, climbed into bed.

Nuku Nuku felt asleep almost instantly, her soft breathing and occasional mewing drifting down from the top level of the bunk beds the pair shared.

But despite the soft mattress and crisp sheets, Ryunosuke lay awake. The room's single window, despite the closed shade and curtains still let in flashes of the lightning outside. And the thunder, whenever it boomed, was loud and long.

No one in the Natsume family knew that the young man was afraid of thunderstorms. Ryunosuke himself wasn't sure why he felt this way, but he couldn't stand it, the lightning and the thunder. They scared him.

He tried closing his eyes and reminded himself that he was safe inside the house. But it didn't work. Suddenly, the window flared with an especially bright flash of lightning and a moment later, the house shook with a loud clap of thunder.

Ryunosuke tried not to, but he couldn't help it. He cried out.

Sleeping contentedly above Ryunosuke, Nuku Nuku was in the midst of a very pleasant dream where she stood before the biggest fish market she had ever seen. The owner had told her to pick whatever she wanted, no charge. She couldn't help but drool as her eyes roamed over the gleaming racks, stuffed full of tasty fillets.

Suddenly, the world around her seemed to shake and a moment later, the dream faded as her eyes opened, the optical circuits automatically adjusting to the darkened room, her sensors on heightened alert.

_What was that_?

Just then, she saw the window flare with light. It darkened a moment later and there came another clap of thunder.

_It was the storm_.

Nuku Nuku accessed her sensors and checked what was going on outside the Natsume house. She detected a large thunderstorm that was passing over Maneki City and one of its stronger waves was right over the house.

_Well that's okay then_, she thought, _I can go back to sleep._

Just then, her sensor suite alerted her electronic brain to a new sound. She focused on it, isolating the signal.

_Mr. Ryunosuke!_

Holding firmly onto the sides of the bed, Nuku Nuku leaned her head out and over, her hair cascading down as she looked to where Ryunosuke was.

He was making a strange sound, one she wasn't familiar with. But one look at his face told her there was a problem.

"Mr. Ryunosuke?"

His eyes tightly shut so as not to see the lightning; Ryunosuke didn't see Nuku Nuku appear. He just wanted the thunder and lightning to stop. But why did he think he had heard Nuku Nuku?

"Mr. Ryunosuke?"

Opening his eyes, Ryunosuke saw her, her face upside down to him, leaning over the bed above him. Her face wore an expression of concern.

"Nuku Nuku?"

Her face disappeared and there was a sound of movement as she agilely leapt from the bed to the floor. She leaned over him.

"Mr. Ryunosuke, are you all right?"

Realizing that he was crying, Ryunosuke quickly wiped at his face, not wanting her to see him like this.

"I'm all right, Nuku Nuku."

She stared at him, her expression still concerned

"Really," he said, "I…"

Just then, the window flared with white light and even before the lightning faded, thunder shook the house once again.

Ryunosuke cried out, his eyes wide with fear. He reached out just as Nuku Nuku did the same.

When their hands touched, Ryunosuke's voice cut off in mid-cry. The sudden feel of Nuku Nuku's hands on his, their touch, their weight.

He looked into her eyes, feeling tears brimming. Her expression of concern faded away. She smiled kindly at him.

"It's all right, Mr. Ryunosuke," she said.

That broke the dam inside him.

"Nuku Nuku!" he cried, flinging himself at her, his eyes tightly shut.

She caught the young boy, wrapping her arms around him, cradling his head to her breast.

"It's all right," she said again.

Ryunosuke felt embarrassed even as his hands clutched fistfuls of Nuku Nuku's pajamas. He held onto her tightly.

"It's all right, Mr. Ryunosuke. Don't be scared. Nuku Nuku will protect you."

This only made him cry harder.

Moving slowly, carefully, gently, Nuku Nuku laid Ryunosuke back into bed, sliding her own legs in.

Feeling the movement, Ryunosuke opened his eyes.

"Nuku Nuku?'

"It's all right, Mr., Ryunosuke," she said, looking directly at him. "Nuku Nuku will stay with you. Nuku Nuku will protect you."

"Forever," he said, remembering the promise they had made to each other.

She giggled at him

"Of course," she said, "forever."

Despite the fear he felt as the storm continued to rage outside, Ryunosuke managed to smile.

Sliding around, Nuku Nuku moved into the bed with him, drawing her legs up and wrapping her body against his small, shaking form.

In the dark, they looked at each other. When a new flash of lightning flared outside and the thunder boomed, Ryunosuke jerked slightly in fear. But Nuku Nuku held him tightly, shielding him.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly.

She gave him a confused look.

"Why?"

"I… I…"

He shook his head.

Nuku Nuku laughed.

"You're so silly, Mr. Ryunosuke."

He managed a small smile, even as the tremors that shook him began to subside. Nuku Nuku was there with him, her body protecting his, her warmth surrounding him.

After a few minutes, Ryunosuke felt his eyelids begin to close.

"Nuku Nuku?" he asked sleepily.

"Yes, Mr. Ryunosuke?"

"Thank you," he breathed.

She giggled again.

A moment later, he was asleep.

Nuku Nuku watched him a while, observing the rise and fall of his chest, her sensors indicating that he was asleep.

Thunder boomed again and Ryunosuke's body jumped.

Nuku Nuku responded by holding him tighter, cradling him as a mother cat would her kittens.

_Mr. Ryunosuke is so strange, _she thought. _Why didn't he just tell me he was afraid of storms?_

She pondered this a bit longer.

_Humans are so strange. But no matter what, I will always protect my Mr. Ryunosuke._

A minute later, she too fell asleep and dreamed once again of fish.

THE END


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